page_title: Burkina Faso
section_title: Food security
hierarchical_section_title: Burkina Faso / Food insecurity in Burkina Faso / Food security
context_page_description: Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa. It covers an area of around 274,200 square kilometres and is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north and west; Niger to the east; Benin to the southeast; Togo to the southeast; Ghana to the south; and Ivory Coast to the southwest. The July 2019 population estimate by the United Nations was 20,321,378. The country's official language of government and business is French. Roughly 50% of the population speaks the Mossi language natively. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, the country was renamed "Burkina Faso" on 4 August 1984 by erstwhile President Thomas Sankara. Its citizens are known as Burkinabé. Its capital is Ouagadougou.
  The Republic of Upper Volta was established on 11 December 1958 as a self-governing colony within the French Community, and on 5 August 1960 it gained full independence, with Maurice Yaméogo as President. After protests by students and labour union members, Yaméogo was deposed in the 1966 coup d'état, led by Sangoulé Lamizana, who became president.
context_section_description: Burkina Faso is faced with high levels of food insecurity. As defined by the 1996 World Food Summit, "food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy lifestyle." There has not been much successful improvement on this issue of food security within recent years. Burkina Faso's rapidly growing population (around 3.6% annually) continues to put a strain on the country's resources and infrastructure, which can further limit accessibility to food.
  Because the country is landlocked and prone to natural disasters, including drought and floods, many families struggle to protect themselves from severe hunger. While recent harvest productions have improved some, much of the population is still having a hard time overcoming the continuous food and nutrition crises of the past decade. Malnutrition is especially common in women and children, with large amounts of the population suffering from stunted growth and micronutrient deficiencies such as anemia. Food insecurity has grown to be a structural problem in Burkina Faso, only to be intensified by high food prices. All of these factors combined with high poverty levels have left Burkina Faso vulnerable to chronic high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition.
caption: A group of farmers in Tarfila, Burkina Faso
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